Read alouds are such an important part of an elementary classroom’s literacy block. If you’re looking for a new way to share stories with your students, or simply want a resource to share with parents, you have to check out Storyline Online. Presented by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, this site has videos of well-known actors reading your favorite picture books aloud.

Visit their site to watch Jane Kaczmarek read Patricia Polacco’s Thank you, Mr. Falker or to listen to Sean Astin’s reading of David Shannon’s A Bad Case of the Stripes.

Like this:

I’ve had the pleasure of working with LitWorld this year – a wonderful nonprofit organization in New York City. One of the resources we’ve shared with the parents who are part of their intergenerational iPad literacy program is ReadyRosie.

ReadyRosie is a fantastic parent engagement tool that sends videos straight to parents once a day. In these short clips they’ll gather ideas for how to engage their children during everyday tasks, build their vocabulary and spark their curiosity. I’m a big believer in the power of early childhood education and thoughtful programming to decrease the “word gap.” No matter where you live or where you work with children ReadyRosie is definitely worth bringing to your community!

Like this:

There are tons of fantastic websites available for teachers and here’s a list of 11 that I absolutely love. You’ll find lesson plans, videos, interactive resources and more on these sites. Click on each link to learn more about each one!

Like this:

I’ve shared some of my favorite online resources this month (TED-Ed, Newsela, Met Museum, Readworks) and LearnZillion is another that is perfect for Math and English Language Arts teachers. Whether you’re looking to teach to the Common Core State Standards or simply want quality material to share with your students, LearnZillion has plenty to choose from.

You can sign up for free and access video lessons and teacher guides for students in second grade through high school. LearnZillion is a great resource for sharing videos on tough math concepts with families who are looking to support their children after school hours.

Like this:

If you are interested in creating video lessons using your iPad you’ll definitely want to check out Knowmia Teach Pro. This powerful tool lets users make their own recordings using a virtual whiteboard to annotate images, draw pictures and add text to the screen. In addition to capturing everything you write on the screen, Knowmia records your voice and a video of you speaking into the camera. There are tons of tools for you to explore within the app.

Knowmia Teach Pro gives you extra features and the ability to access your lessons from outside of Knowmia – you can save your recordings to the iPad Camera Roll or upload them directly to YouTube. The pro version includes enhanced video quality and the power to record you moving through a website to model best practices for students. Learn more by visiting their website or downloading their iPad app!

Like this:

TED Talks are great for using inside or outside of the classroom but if you’re looking for video clips that are targeted to students, you’ll definitely want to check out TED-Ed. This website is full of resources for teachers including videos, extension activities and comprehension questions. With animated creations on a variety of subjects you’re sure to find something that fits into your curriculum – or you have the power to make and share your own lessons on their site.

Like this:

Videos are a powerful teaching tool for grabbing students’ attention and helping them visual abstract concepts. Brainfeed has a fantastic app with tons of free content for streaming educational videos. There are clips on the environment, the human body, and even geometry. A subscription lets users access the entire library, but this app has plenty of content for you to view with the free download.